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Main Story. 06. 23.
“Adversity introduces a man to himself.” 1
ThruDark co-founders Anthony ‘Staz’ Stazicker CGC and Louis Tinsley would know. They saw plenty of adversity during their combined 27 years of service in the UK Special Forces—crawling through wet, spiky bushes in Scotland, baking under the sun in Afghanistan, and freezing in the mountains of Norway. But pressure makes diamonds. And Staz and Louis both excelled amidst the chaos, successfully making the elite Special Boat Service (roughly equivalent to Seal Team 6 in the USA), completing countless critical missions, and both retiring from the service after highly decorated careers.
So what do a couple of retired service members do once they leave the special forces and no longer get piles of fancy kit handed to them for free? They make their own, of course! What they landed on was ThruDark, the ultimate combination of tactical and outdoor gear for men and women. The name means getting through those dark times and coming out the other side, maybe a little bruised and battered, but better for having done it.
We’ve been outfitting ThruDark with the most advanced fabrics known to man since they started their mission in 2018. And this summer, ThruDark is expanding their kit with a new hot-weather collection featuring Polartec Delta cooling fabric.
For the average person, clothing is something you buy at a store, put on to match your outfit, then don’t think much more about. For Loius and Staz, clothing has always been something to obsess over, fiddle with, improve upon. For them, clothing is always a work in progress.
When Staz was on his sniper course, the camp clothing issued to him wasn’t quite up to the task of crawling through prickly gorse bush. So he fixed the problem himself. Staz tracked down a surplus tent, cut out patches of the heavy canvas material, then stitched it onto the elbows, knees and butt of his combat uniform—giving himself a superpower for stalking, unseen, through even the most terrible brush and overgrowth.
For cold weather training in Norway, Staz and his crew would cut the tops off their arctic socks and sew them into the cuffs of their jackets to keep their wrists warm. They added pockets and pouches to their gear so they could access items while crawling around through the mud. They trimmed their hats to see better while stalking.
With all the emphasis on “comfort” and “softness” in outdoor kit these days, you might think the average outdoor company is trying to shelter you entirely from discomfort. Not so for ThruDark; they’d rather chuck you directly into it. And once you’re in it, the best way through adversity is to keep going. ThruDark makes gear to keep going through tough conditions.
The boys figured their background in the special forces gave them a leg up designing kit for these conditions. And they approached the business the same way they’d approach any mission: Methodically planned, 100% committed, and ticking off every step along the way. The fledgling outfit had great ideas, good designs, and top-notch manufacturing lined up. But they still needed one more piece: fabric that was up to the task. So they turned to a familiar name in combat apparel: Polartec.
Polartec has a long history of creating fabrics that are unmatched for the demands of combat conditions. And Staz and Louis already had plenty of experience with Polartec gear during their days in the service. So it was only natural that ThruDark’s first product, the Phalanx Fleece, would be crafted from Polartec High Loft. ThruDark has remained a key partner of Polartec ever since—releasing iconic products like the Siege Base Layer made from Polartec Power Grid™ and the Mantra Fleeces using advanced Polartec Thermal Pro fleece.
Last year, we awarded ThruDark with our highest honor: the Apex Award. Their Centurion Alpine Jacket, which combines three different Polartec technologies into one mind blowing soft shell, was honored as one of the 12 most innovative products made with Polartec.
But with all this cool-weather kit, ThruDark reckoned it was time to heat things up.
The Oryon Collection is ThruDark’s new active-arid range, designed to keep you cool in harsh, dry environments. To help ThruDark achieve this goal, we’ve provided them with the ultimate cooling technology: Polartec Delta.
Delta keeps you cool in a way that some of the other sweat-wicking performance fabrics can’t: by leveraging your body’s natural cooling process. You see, fast drying fabrics are good at disbursing sweat away, but they’re not as good at using that sweat for its intended purpose. The Delta difference is that it’s constructed with both hydrophilic and hydrophobic fibers. The next-to-skin face holds moisture against your skin to cool you down, while the hydrophilic yarns on the outside dissipate moisture to avoid “wetting out” or wet cling. And Delta’s innovative radiating knit structures keep you cooler in hot conditions by increasing airflow to dissipate heat.
The Delta Long Sleeve and Delta T-Shirt from ThruDark match these powerful drying capabilities with a super-functional design that you can wear against your skin for as long as the mission takes.
Check out the Oryon Collection here.
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